Combo Lights?

I should have been more clear, we're talking about lighting for a planted aquarium, 5500k at the minimum, but 6700k is prefered. I'm looking through those bulbs, indeed they do have some 6500k. Good find.

This one in particular is crazy:

http://www.1000bulbs.com/105-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent/31681/

How crazy is that bulb, it's 11.8" long and 4.2" in diameter...thing's fringin' huge, but it'd have to be to 105w, 500w-equivalent.


I wish they had them in 10000k.
 
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The 42w and 65w bulbs can be found in a range of color temperatures, mostly depending on the manufacturer. The ones I have were purchased at wal-mart, and I've not seen the local wal-mart stores stocking true daylight(6500k+) bulbs. I'll see what I can find next time I'm out as far as Philips daylight bulbs in higher wattages are concerned. If they have 'em in 42W, that's great, 65W even better. Philips daylight are 6500k and look great imo, sold at home depot here.

*Always(ALWAYS!) check the packaging for a specific numeric reference to colour temperature! I've seen 3700k bulbs being sold as "daylight" with a little notice on the packaging letting you know that the bulbs don't meet the "daylight" specification for colour temperature.
 
Just got back from home depot, and the Philips "Daylight"(6500k) 42w spiral cfl's are there. I got a pack of the 26w bulbs for two reasons, the first being that one 42w bulb costs *more* than two 26w bulbs. The second being that I don't want 84w in my hood until I have a fan cooling it. Third, I need CO2.

Either way, it's worth checking around. If they stock them here, they're bound to stock them elsewhere.
 
Yes, and 26w bulbs are by-far the most economical option. They also are more efficient at producing light(Scour 1000bulbs.com and determine lumens/watt for different bulbs, 26w bulbs are most efficient iirc). For reasons of space or simplicity, sometimes higher wattage individual bulbs become a better, if not more expensive, option.

Once you go to the super-giant 100w+CFL's, cost becomes prohibitive; $96 for a 125w 6500k.
 
well, i'm thinking about running a 48" combo light (or maybe 2 20" ones) as well as a single 48" strip that came with my tank (depending on what i put in for bulbs.) I think that it might look cleaner than the 4 48" bulbs i've got up there already.

petsmart seems to have the best price on these things, and on top of that, I get a discount there through my employer.

if/when I do, I'll let you know how it all turns out.

that said, please, continue to post ideas/concerns/insane bulbs... though 4 75 watt bulbs is all this fixture can handle.
 
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